This book has been conceived as both a prism and a manual. Following the “traditional” arc of electroacoustic composition (listen—record—compose—deploy—feel), each of the contributions collected together here focuses in on a personal aspect, a fragment of that thrilling territory that is sonic and musical experimentation.
Although the term “experimental music” may now have be understood as referring to a genre, or even a particular style, we ought to hold on to the original use of this term, which was based more on an approach than on any particular aesthetic line to be followed. The experimental is first and foremost a spirit, the spirit of the exploration of unknown territories, a spirit of invention which sees musical composition more as a voyage into uncertain territories than as a self-assured approach working safe within the bosom of fully mapped out and recognized lands.
With Texts in English and French by Félicia Atkinson, François Bayle, François J. Bonnet, Drew Daniel, Brunhild Ferrari, Beatriz Ferreyra, Stephen O’Malley, Jim O’Rourke, Eliane Radigue, Régis Renouard Larivière, Espen Sommer Eide, Daniel Teruggi, Chris Watson
Chris Watson // Recording / Enregister
Brunhild Ferrari // The Microphone’s Gaze / Le regard du microphone
Espen Sommer Eide // Exercises in Non-Human Listening / Exercices d’écoute non-humaine
Beatriz Ferreyra // Perceive, Feel, Hear... / Percevoir, ressentir, écouter...
Drew Daniel // Towards a Heterology of Sound: on Bataille and Musique Concrète / Vers une hétérologie de son : à propos de Bataille et de la musique concrète
Eliane Radigue // Time Is of No Importance / Le temps n’a pas d’importance
Stephen O’Malley // Sound Matters / Sons élémentaires
François J. Bonnet // Underneath Listening /En deçà de l’écoute
Jim O’Rourke // Chair and Table / Une chaise et une table
Régis Renouard Larivière // Acousmatic Recreations / Récréations acousmatiques
Daniel Teruggi // Spaces of Mind / Les espaces de l’esprit
Félicia Atkinson // On the Patio: The Voice, Doubt, Perspective and Immersion / Dans le patio : la voix, le doute, la perspective et l’immersion
François Bayle // Space in Question / L’espace en question